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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The following dishes were presented for the Foodie Series of the Assiniboine Park Conservancy on the theme of Mediterranean. Karin Lind from the Conservancy, presented on prominent plant products of the region, extensively on olive oil, and Scot Strizic, of the MLCC, presented perfect beverage pairings. Enjoy!

1. Turkish Imam Bayaldi

There are two stories behind the name, "Imam Bayaldi" which means,
"The Imam fainted dead away". One is that the olive oil used to
prepare this dish was so expensive that he fainted from the extravagent use.
The other story is that the food was so good that he died completely satisfied
and joyful with the tastes of such a dish. I'm hoping that you'll have a
similar experience to the latter story.

Preheat oven to 350°F. On the stove top, preheat olive oil in sauté pan.
Carefully brown egplants on all sides. This takes some time. One option is to
prepare the eggplant on a BBQ by drizzling olive oil over the eggplants prior
to grilling. Remove eggplants from pan and place in a baking dish. Let
eggplants rest. Split open the eggplants and spoon in the rich tomato sauce
into each eggplant. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and drizzle with good olive
oil. Bake for up to 30 minutes. Imam Baldi can be enjoyed hot, cold or room
temperature. Serve with bread.

Roast the garlic for 25 minutes at 350ºF until caramelized. Let cool enough to
handle. Squeeze out and mash. Mix in a bowl with the sour cream and mayonnaise.
Season with salt and paprika. Chill.

For the potatoes, cut each potato half into 3 wedges and place in a large bowl.
Add the olive oil, garlic and salt and toss well. Transfer to a roasting pan
and arrange in a single layer. Roast for 1- 1/14 hours, or until crisp and
golden.

Slowly sauté onions on medium-low heat with olive oil until they begin to
caramelize. Stir in Ras el Hanout spice blend. Turn up heat to medium-high and
add butter and saffron. Brown meat well on all sides and add tomatoes and other
vegetables. Add broth, prunes and honey. Add red wine and salt and let simmer
for 1-2 hours, depending on using the tajine and toughness of the meat. Meat
should melt in your mouth when done.

Heat the milk, butter, and salt over medium heat until scalded. When the butter
is melted, add the flour all at once and beat it with a wooden spoon until the
mixture comes together and forms a dough. Cook, stirring constantly, over low
heat for 2 minutes. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pan. Dump the
hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add
the eggs and pulse until the eggs are incorporated into the dough and the
mixture is thick.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe
in mounds 1 1/2 inches wide and 1-inch high onto a baking sheet lined with
parchment paper. You should have about 18 puffs. With a wet finger, lightly
press down the swirl at the top of each puff. (You can also use 2 spoons to
scoop out the mixture and shape the puffs with damp fingers.) Bake for 20
minutes, or until lightly browned, then turn off the oven and allow them to sit
for another 10 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Make
a small slit in the side of each puff to allow the steam to escape. Set aside
to cool.

For the chocolate sauce, place the cream and chocolate chips in a bowl set over
simmering water and stir just until the chocolate melts.Set aside.

Cut
each profiterole in half, fill with whipped cream or lemon curd or ice
cream.Close and drizzle with
chocolate sauce.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

This morning I had the pleasure of presenting the following shrimp dishes for CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod. The wild caught Argentinian shrimp is available at Gimli Fish and works perfectly for these two dishes. Turkish Baharat is available at Pollock's Hardware Co-op. Hot smoked paprika is available at Millad's on Notre Dame in Winnipeg.

Combine Turkish Baharat, grated shallots, lime juice, olive oil, paprika and salt and pepper in a bowl. Place shrimp in the bowl and cover completely with the marinade. Place in fridge and let marinate for 6 hours. Grill 2-4 minutes a side on a very hot BBQ grill.

To enjoy in a Pide ,grill Naan or Pide** on BBQ and spread on a bit of yoghurt tahini sauce (recipe follows).

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tonight I will be presenting the following dishes for the Foodie Series for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy at the Madison Square MLCC. I'm really loving this Bruschetta recipe (see tomato coulis). Roasted tomato/shallot focaccia is rising in the pan.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Toss the squash and olive oil in a large bowl. Spread on
a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly brush with half of the honey. Bake
for 15 minutes. Turn and brush with the remaining honey. Bake for another 15
minutes or until the squash is cooked through. Some varieties take longer to
cook.

While the squash is baking, toast the walnuts lightly. Whisk together the lemon
juice, walnut oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Toss the greens with the vinaigrette in a large bowl and place on serving
plates. Top with 3-5 slices of squash. Sprinkle with the walnuts and feta,
season and serve while the squash is still warm.

2. Bruschetta

4 medium tomatoes

4+ oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

1 clove garlic,

2-3 tbs. olive oil

small bunch basil

dash of crushed red chilies

salt and pepper

Blend all ingredients and chill.Spread over Italian bread that has been toasted with olive
oil and garlic.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a large saucepot, brown ground meat in olive oil over
medium high heat. Remove meat from pot and set aside. Add olive oil to pot and
slowly brown onions. Then add tomatoes (with water or juice), spices, roasted
garlic, brown sugar and red wine. Purée sauce and add dried porcini mushrooms
and meat back to the sauce. Simmer until well incorporated.

In a 9x13 inch baking dish, place 2 layers of noodles on the bottom of dish;
layer 1/2 of the ricotta cheese, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 of the
sauce; repeat layers.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes; let stand for 10 minutes
before cutting; serve.

4. Drunken Figs

1 package of dried figs
red wine such as Lambrusco works great as it is a sweet wine to begin with, but
merlot, shiraz, zinfandel or pinot noir would work great too!

Place dried figs in a glass bowl, cover with wine. Place in fridge. DONE

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Last night I had the pleasure of presenting the following dishes for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy Foodie Series with host Karin Lind of the APC and Scott Strizic of the MLCC. These can be made in advance if you are planning something special for Thanksgiving.

Wash the eggplant and prick all over with a fork. Drizzle oil over eggplant, whole pepper and the white of the leek. Roast in a hot BBQ, turning occasionally. Remove eggplant when soft. Remove red pepper when blackened and leek when soft and caramelized. Cube eggplant with skin on. Peel blackened skin off of pepper and chop. Slice leek into thin rounds. Mix all ingredients together and chill until serving. Serve with French bread or a baguette.

Roast the garlic for 25 minutes at 350ºF until caramelized. Let cool enough to
handle. Squeeze out and mash. Mix in a bowl with the sour cream and mayonnaise.
Season with salt and paprika. Chill.

For the potatoes, cut each potato half into 3 wedges and place in a large bowl.
Add the olive oil, garlic and salt and toss well. Transfer to a roasting pan
and arrange in a single layer. Roast for 1- 1/14 hours, or until crisp and
golden.

Slowly sauté onions on medium-low heat with olive oil until they begin to
caramelize. Stir in Ras el Hanout spice blend. Turn up heat to medium-high and
add butter and saffron. Brown meat well on all sides and add tomatoes and other
vegetables. Add broth, prunes and honey. Add red wine and salt and let simmer
for 1-2 hours, depending on using the tajine and toughness of the meat. Meat
should melt in your mouth when done.

Heat the milk, butter, and salt over medium heat until scalded. When the butter
is melted, add the flour all at once and beat it with a wooden spoon until the
mixture comes together and forms a dough. Cook, stirring constantly, over low
heat for 2 minutes. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pan. Dump
the hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Add the eggs and pulse until the eggs are incorporated into the dough and the
mixture is thick.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe
in mounds 1 1/2 inches wide and 1-inch high onto a baking sheet lined with
parchment paper. You should have about 18 puffs. With a wet finger, lightly
press down the swirl at the top of each puff. (You can also use 2 spoons to
scoop out the mixture and shape the puffs with damp fingers.) Bake for 20
minutes, or until lightly browned, then turn off the oven and allow them to sit
for another 10 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Make
a small slit in the side of each puff to allow the steam to escape. Set aside
to cool.

For the chocolate sauce, place the cream and chocolate chips in a bowl set over
simmering water and stir just until the chocolate melts.Set aside.

Cut
each profiterole in half, fill with whipped cream or lemon curd or ice
cream.Close and drizzle with
chocolate sauce.

Wash beets well, being careful not to break their skins. Cut off the
tops, leaving a stalk of about 1 1/2". Boil in a 3 quart saucepan
until tender, covered. Allow the water to cool, then slip off the
skins, trim off the tops, and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the beets. Let marinate
for 1 hour before serving.

Beet Salad II: Prepare as described above, but add 1 tsp. orange
flower water, 1/8 tsp. cumin, a pinch of paprika, and a little water
to the sauce.

Stud the eggplant with garlic slivers, using a pairing knife to cut slits into
the eggplant. Bake at 400ºF until very soft. Remove from oven to cool when
darkened and "collapsed".

When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the flesh of the eggplant into a sieve.
Discard liquid and skin of eggplant.

Mash or push the eggplant and garlic through a food mill (avoid a blender as it
won't give you the desired effect).

Add the chopped herbs and spices and mix well. Fry in the olive oil over
moderate heat, turning often until all of the liquid has evaporated and the
eggplant has been reduced to a thick black jam, about 15 - 20 minutes. Sprinkle
with lemon juice and salt. Serve warm or slightly cooled.

Rub all the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and cumin. Let stand for one hour.

Soak prunes if very dry.

Place onions in a wide shallow casserole with turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, salt
and pepper to taste, 1/4 cup water, cover and steam for 15 minutes.

Brown the almonds in 4-5 tbs oil in a large skillet and drain on paper towels.
Brown the chicken evenly on all sides in the oil and transfer to the steamed
onions. Cover with parchment paper and cook in tajine on the lowest heat for
about 1 1/4 hours.

Discard the parchment paper. Add the prunes and bring to a gentle boil. Remove
from the heat. Serve with almonds sprinkled on top.

The day before, finely grind almonds in a food processor. Add the dates, apples
and 1 tsp cinnamon and the ginger and continue pulsing until the apples are
chopped into tiny pieces and the mixture comes together. Cover and refrigerate
overnight.

The next day, shape the mixture into balls the size of a large marble. Put the
½ cup cinnamon in a bowl and roll the balls in it.